


lost in the dark

by demonicneonfishy



Series: february angst-fest (febuwhump 2021) [9]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Andy | Andromache of Scythia Needs a Hug, Buried Alive, Canon Compliant, F/F, M/M, POV Andy | Andromache of Scythia, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29315340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonicneonfishy/pseuds/demonicneonfishy
Summary: She is going to get out of here. She is going to find Quynh. Then, they are going to burn this place to the ground. In that order.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: february angst-fest (febuwhump 2021) [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141784
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	lost in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> day 9 of febuwhump 2021  
> prompt: buried alive

Andromache screams for Quynh even after the doors are shut and barred, after one of the priests lights the pyre beneath her. She screams and screams as she burns, her tears evaporating in the heat, leaving salt encrusted on her cheeks. It is excruciating. And still she does not stop, not until death drags her down into darkness.

She almost hopes that this will be the last time. 

It isn’t, of course. She wakes to a priest removing the chains from her still-healing body, and makes no sound. They haul her to her feet and drag her away, and she doesn’t have the energy to fight.

She is going to get out of here. She is going to find Quynh. Then, they are going to burn this place to the ground. In that order.

They haul her into a wagon with metal bars. She stares out at them, unblinking, as they lock the door.  _ You do not know what you have done _ .  _ I will burn you and cast you all into the waves _ .

The ride is long. She tries to remember as much of the route as she can. She will walk back if she has to.

She only hopes they have not also found Yusuf and Nicoló. She does not know what she will do if she loses them too.

The wagon jolts and comes to a stop, and Andromache sits up, alert. This may be her chance. The driver gets off the bench at the front and circles round to unlock the doors. She is a wildcat, ready to pounce.

But she is weak. The driver slits her throat, and she dies for the second time that day choking on her own blood.

* * *

When she wakes, she is in darkness. Crushing, suffocating darkness. She can’t breathe. She can’t breathe. She can’t-

…

She is underground, she realises. She tries to move her arms to dig her way out, desperate to get to the surface-

…

Is this what Quynh is going through? Drowning, over and over, in water instead of earth? The thought makes her fight harder. Quynh has already been down there too long-

…

She’s tired. So tired. She could just give up. Sleep. Maybe, in time, her curse will leave her, and she will find Lykon and Quynh again in whatever comes next-

…

No, no, she cannot give up, she cannot leave Yusuf and Nico, they need her, her brothers, she has to-

…

Quynh, Quynh, she has to find Quynh-

…

Moonlight breaks through the darkness, brilliant and blinding after so long in the dark. She claws her way out of her living grave, coughing as she scrabbles for a grip on the grass. The wagon and its driver are long gone.

She lies on her back for a few moments, remembering how to make her lungs work. Then she rolls over and vomits into the grass.

Maybe an hour later, maybe more, maybe less, Andromache gets to her feet. She cannot fall apart now. She needs to find Yusuf and Nico, and then she will find Quynh.

She cannot allow herself to break yet.

* * *

It takes her days to find Yusuf and Nico.

She arrives at their house in the late afternoon. Nobody answers when she knocks on the door, and it sends a wave of panic through her. 

She can’t lose them too, she won't lose them too-

She opens the door anyway and enters the house. “Yusuf?” she calls. Her voice sounds like a stranger’s, shaky and far away. “Nico?”

Yusuf appears in the doorway, and she lets out a relieved sigh. A smile spreads across his face when he sees her, and then he takes in her appearance and his eyes go wide. “Andromache?”

“Where’s Nico?” she asks him, craning her neck to look behind Yusuf, her blood running cold.  _ Please, please, let them both be safe- _

“He’s just outside. Where’s Quynh?”

Andromache opens her mouth to explain and can’t find the words to say it. Where does she begin? 

Yusuf must read it on her face, because his smile disappears completely. “Nico?” he calls.

A few moments later, Nicoló appears in the doorway, looking at Yusuf and then Andromache. “Andromache? Where’s Quynh?”

Andromache falls apart. She  stumbles towards them, and they catch her- reaching forward and pulling her into a tight embrace. She’s not sure how long she cries for. Maybe minutes, maybe hours. 

Yusuf and Nicoló don’t let go. 

**Author's Note:**

> i am sorry for this one  
> -  
> i'm demonicneonfishy on tumblr too if you wanna come say hi!! (or yell at me for the angst)


End file.
